The present invention is directed to a process for producing an inclusion packaged product which comprises a thin-leaf article enclosed in a package.
Recently, laminated cachous (i.e., pills or pastilles for sweetening the breath) have become popular. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokai No. 236,885/93, conventional cachous are prepared by shaping compositions, which contain, along with polysaccharides which can be formed into membranes, viscous stabilizers, plasticizers, flavors, sweeteners, substances with acidity or sour taste, and extracts, into sheet-like products and cutting the sheet-like products into thin leaves. The cachous thus obtained are packaged into containers in a prescribed number of leaves, then supplied to users. These cachous are, however, relatively small in size and are easily stuck together so that they could be packaged by hand individually in containers while counting, which increases the production cost.
There has been an effort to shape products other than cachous into thin-leaf products for foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. These thin-leaf products are easily handled and transportable for the users, and can be advantageously used in any number wherever one is, i.e., indoors or outdoors, by removing the thin leaves from their containers. From the producers"" side, however, there is still a difficulty in handling these products during packaging. In some cases, the products are supplied to users unpackaged in order to lower the production costs of the products.
The output of thin leaf products described above directly reflects today""s diversified consuming life style. There is a strong demand for a packaging technique for thin leaf products that fulfills the users"" need and ensure satisfactory hygiene and handleability.
In view of the foregoing, the first object of the present invention is to provide an inclusion packaged product contain a thin leaf inclusion article which has satisfactory handleability and which does not come in contact with the atmosphere.
The second object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing such an inclusion packaged product at a relatively low production cost.
The present inventors"" energetic study revealed that the above objects can be attained by an inclusion packaged product comprising an inclusion cell formed by a base sheet and an overlapping sheet, and a thin leaf inclusion article enclosed in the inclusion cell in a manner such that it can be freely detached from the base sheet.
The first object of the present invention is solved by an inclusion packaged product comprising an inclusion cell formed by a base sheet and an overlapping sheet, and a thin leaf inclusion article enclosed in the inclusion cell in a manner such that it can be freely detached from the base sheet.
The second object of the present invention is attained by providing a process for producing the inclusion packaged product, which comprises the steps of:
(1) coating a base sheet with a solution of an inclusion article;
(2) drying the coated solution; and
(3) placing an overlapping sheet onto the base sheet and sealing prescribed sections of the sheets to surround the area coated with the solution.